Xbox SmartGlass for Android and iPhone coming early 2013, Windows 8 version here 26 October

Xbox SmartGlass for Android and iPhone will be coming in early 2013, Microsoft has told us, following a demo of the innovative service on Windows 8. SmartGlass was first demonstrated back at E3 in June 2012.

Xbox SmartGlass will give you expanded control and integration with your Xbox 360 from your smart device. It's going to be available across Microsoft's platforms (Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT) from launch, before landing on other platforms in early 2013.

SmartGlass will give you the ability to use your phone as a controller as long as you are on the same network as your console, a function already available through the My Xbox Live companion app on iPhone (pictured above).

Although Microsoft is yet to show SmartGlass on all these platforms, we do have some screens from Xbox SmartGlass for Android, iPhone and iPad in the gallery below. We've included a screen from the Android and iPhone apps just below, so you know what to expect.

SmartGlass will allow control over movies and music, moving playback from one device to another, so you can pause on your tablet and resume on your Xbox, back on the big screen. It will also allow your mobile device to act as a second screen for things like movies and music, providing information on actors or artists.

This second-screen experience extends to supported games: for example, it will provide a GPS map for Forza Horizon or let you line up the next track for Dance Central 3, we have been told.

It will act as a remote for the new Xbox Internet Explorer browser, so you can zoom using pinch on your display.

Xbox SmartGlass will be available in Windows 8, which launches on 26 October and Windows Phone 8, launching 29 October, initially. You will need an Xbox Live Gold subscription for some SmartGlass features to work and we're not certain exactly which features Android and iOS users will get.

Once we've got firm dates for SmartGlass on other platforms, we'll bring you all the details.

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